Ugh! How do I survive 3 more years?

[Scuba]

Yes, I am very fortunate. I have been a school administrator for the last 20 years and have made more money than I ever imagined from when I first went into teaching. I have become very weary of the entitled parents that I work with on a daily basis. It's a shame how people feel that the taxpayers should cover their kids every need. Anyhow, that will be for my book.



Longevity plays a role in our pensions in California. You have to work at least 30 years and be 61 and a half to get a big portion of your salary. I will actually make my salary plus some since they won't be taking out our contribution towards retirement any longer. Also, if you have been with the same school district for 20 years or more, if you retire before age 65 you can remain on your medical plan until you are eligible for Medicare. However, this is only for the employee but not the family so you'd have to come out of pocket for your spouse or if you have children.



The golden handcuffs have me shackled. However, I have found a way to make myself happy. I have decided to go back to the classroom for the last few years. I will make less money but will be much happier with the kids and not deal with as many issues. I will get back a whole lot of time which is more important than anything else. I will get my whole summer vacation back. Yeah! Plus, and here is the biggie, we can pull reduce our work year to half after age 55 and still get a full year's worth of service credit which is calculated into your pension benefits. So it would like working for a year, but you have only worked for half the year. No, you don't get to be paid for a full year. You only get the time. I plan to do this for the last two years. I bought a home in Texas to escape California's ugly taxes plus the cost of living is so much less expensive.



That's how I am handling the last few years so I don't get overly burned out and like I said in my earlier post, I look forward to traveling and having fun.

Just curious, where in TX did you buy? DH and I considered leaving CA for TX or FL and actually went on some exploratory trips. We have family in and near FL and lots of friends in TX. But in the end, CA won out for us due to weather, friends, and diversity of activities we enjoy.

 

[Marita40]

I really like Gumby's suggestion. It is what I plan to do myself. I also find that when I have a "plan" it eases my stress over a situation a great deal. I guess it is a matter of feeling less the "victim" than feeling you are in control, working the situation in a way that is ultimately a good thing for you. In short, use the remaining time at work to actively plan for retirement. This includes financial plans, stuff like work on the house, perhaps a bucket list of travel plans, start new hobbies or plan for them, etc. Actually for me the planning is a lot of fun! Then you'll enter retirement with a great sense of having fulfilled those plans.

 

[Carlos2]

Best of Both Worlds

Just curious, where in TX did you buy? DH and I considered leaving CA for TX or FL and actually went on some exploratory trips. We have family in and near FL and lots of friends in TX. But in the end, CA won out for us due to weather, friends, and diversity of activities we enjoy.

I am in the northern part of Houston suburbs in the City of Conroe. I live 10 minutes away from the Woodlands. The weather is not bad. It was in the 70's and 80's during Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's been in the high 70's and 80's these last two weeks. It's the summers that can be difficult with temperatures in the mid 90's and then add the humidity. So from mid May until mid September it heats up with the humidity, but from then on it's really nice. There are lots of trees out this way too. In fact, about 5 minutes north of me is the Sam Houston National Forest. This is the area that the 2016 Womens Olympic Gymnastics team practiced with their famed coach trained before the Olympics.

We also have a beautiful lake, Lake Conroe, which is 10 minutes west, which is great for fishing, boating, jet skiing and swimming. It's not my Orange County digs with Dana Point and Laguna and Newport Beaches, but it's good enough for me.

I also like that I have access to everything as well. Living in the OC, I was an hour from downtown Los Angeles and an hour from downtown San Diego. I had access to football, baseball and basketball without issue between the two cities. I have learned that I don't need to live in the city to enjoy its benefits.

 

[SJ1_]

Quality of Life is more important than money. I've got about 11 months to go.

.......
Age 60 = State Pension (w/blended SS,) Free State Healthcare...



Michael

I would make 100% sure that you still get the free Healthcare

At Georgia you have to have health insurance the day before you retire or
you do not get it. I had to pay Cobra from the time I left till I turned 60.

One of the reasons I stayed so long. Hope yours is different

 

[Surewhitey]

Took 3 years "off" with DW and it was addictive. You will adjust and likely do way better than you expect and then wonder why you didn't earlier. I've been "back" to w*rk for 2 years and am jones-ing for the good ole days. Looking forward to spending some of DGD's early years in a couple and hope to be off to the "good life" again soon.

You will not regret it...just do it.

 

[brett]

I do not understand why having dinner with your boss is such a big deal and why it would be so stressful. Surely after so many years in sales you are accustomed to dinner meetings with customers and colleagues. During my career I had countless dinners with clients or with senior management. Most especially when I was in sales/sales management.

Chill out. You seem really uptight about it. Really, how bad can it be.

 

[travelover]

............Chill out. You seem really uptight about it. Really, how bad can it be.

I think this is for the OP to decide for himself. Speaking for myself, this kind of crap can be soul crushing after a while.

 

[Ed B]

I'm fried, burned out in my position. High pressure medical device sales. Just turned 62, 3 more years till Medicare, SS, and annuity. This will cover all my expenses. No touching my money! Now I'm thinking, sticking it out 2 years, taking a year off and paying for my own healthcare. Just don't think I can do 3 years without snapping and you reading about me in the paper...lol.

Any helpful hints?

As my group and I sat through a culture change town-hall I thought of your thread.

After one of the Directors on the panel made a point that he was very happy with, my colleague says to me: "At some level I am envious that my career never took me to the heights where I could get away with explaining 'Aircraft Carriers take a long time to turn around' as some kind of contribution".

I hate when he does that to me during a meeting because it generates involuntary reactions that may have to be explained.

I thought you could identify with this.

 

[RobLJ]

I moved from Kingwood (close to Conroe) to Reno two years ago, in the opposite direction of the poster. We lived there for 25 years.

But I/we like mountain high desert living, skiing, hiking, and fly-fishing, so Reno was a great fit, without Cali taxes. The Truckee River is a 5 minute walk from my house to fly-fish, but Houston housing is indeed cheaper, at least in the far suburbs.

He may a little mis-underestimate the heat of late May-September, unless you stay in air conditioning; I laugh when fellow hikers complain about Reno heat in July and August, but North Houston in the pine forest like Conroe and Kingwood is comparatively "liveable" compared to the rest of Houston.

In the poster's defense, Houston has world class theater, ballet, and opera--and the Astros (I drove to El Cerritos on Saturday to take the BART to the Coliseum to watch them play the A's, and met my oldest son there)!

Just curious, where in TX did you buy? DH and I considered leaving CA for TX or FL and actually went on some exploratory trips. We have family in and near FL and lots of friends in TX. But in the end, CA won out for us due to weather, friends, and diversity of activities we enjoy.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Hello friends. Some interesting things came up last week. The CEO from a company I was with for 9 years then we had a wonderful buyout called me. They have formed a new company and asked me if I would come on board next spring when their new drug is approved. They have hired our previous COO, CFO, Director of Sales, and all my previous managers. I must have received 10 calls and LinkedIn messages, telling me...the old team is back, this will be great fun again! Of course I said heck yes I'm interested. What a fun team we had.

Then a buddy from our tennis club here in Ohio tells me he wants to open up a satellite office in...........Fort Myers, where I have my condo, and would I be interested in working with him and helping him out for the next 2 or 3 years, what ever I want.

Amazing how some new opportunities can change your outlook! I will keep you posted.

 

[Music Lover]

Remember the OP indicated "Just turned 62, 3 more years till Medicare, SS, and annuity. This will cover all my expenses."

To me that says the best thing is to suck it up for the planned 3 years and be able to retire comfortably. I'm amazed at how quickly time flies. And at least for me, once I have made a decision time flies even more quickly.

He also said that he has more than enough to live on for those 3 years and still retire comfortably, therefore, he doesn't have to "suck it up". If it was me in the same positon, I would already be retired.

 

[Brat]

Amazing how some new opportunities can change your outlook! I will keep you posted.

A change of scenery can work wonders!

Now, push the numbers on your benefits plan and figure out what works best for you.

 

[24601NoMore]

Same here!

Wow can I relate to this thread..

30+ years in high-tech sales. Currently working for a Silicon Valley Cloud software company. It is BRUTAL and soul-crushing, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I do NOTHING but work. Get up before 6. Work out for 45 minutes - and that's my only "self" time all day until I go to bed. Dinner is usually around 9 - if I'm lucky.

Friday comes and I'm so drained I literally go face first into the couch cushions. Last night I fell asleep at 7 from complete exhaustion and my wife couldn't wake me - tried 3 times. Saturday, I'm a zombie..smoke rising from my annhilated body. It takes until mid day Sunday to recoup from the last week..and then it all starts again a few hours later.

We are FI and should be able to retire easily with a 2% WR. Ages 53 (me) and 59 (wife). Expenses are $80K+/yr, and that's WITHOUT HC (ugh).

Big / major concern is HC. No idea what the future holds and the unknown of an additional $20K+/year is a huge fear. Plus, she has pre-existing conditions (high BP and near fatal heart attack a couple years back). Me - I'm sure my system is fried to the max from too many years of stress, coffee and more adult beverages than I should have subjected myself to..

Last year income was very, very good between the two of us - so going to what few pennies we make off CD interest and investments is...terrifying. I'm a pretty experienced investor and have a decent plan in place, but it is still totally out of anyone's control what the market will do - and that frightens me also..because it'd be just my luck to watch a nice PF drop like a stone if something goes whacky - which it will do at some point, guaranteed. Really tempted to just pull everything into cash and bail.

This is kinda personal, but the stress is SO bad and SO relentless - with no break - that there are nights I go to bed wondering if the morning will come. I think quite a bit about the "stress CAN kill you" fact, because I'm heading that direction quickly.

I clearly need to get out. Am exploring other options but no leads so far. Hard to be a slightly overweight white male in your 50s. I have a buddy who got RIF'd last October who's a few years older (also in tech sales) and STILL hasn't found a job. I do think at times if I quit that this is pretty much "it" for me..who's gonna hire a guy who's 53 over dozens of other options in their 20s or 30s?

Really frustrated..need to get out before you guys read my obit in the paper.

Thanks for reading..

 

[ElizabethT]

Hey guys..thanks for the replies. I really appreciate your thoughts.

As far as current financials...I am in very good shape. House and condo in Florida are paid for. I have a friend who rents my condo for 3 months each winter which actually covers all my condo fees and RE taxes. No debt. Expenses and I mean everything Fidelity could find are at 67k per year and that includes me paying for the condo fees and taxes. Have in the neighborhood 1.5 mill in 401k and savings combined.

Yes, my crazy issue is giving up a substantial income, at least for me (165k salary, bonuses and also get a car allowance) for a few years vs. dealing with it. I could take a low stress job, but hate the thought of giving us money for my, the kids, grandkids future.
Some of my buddies say..why let it bother you? I guess I shouldn't, but for me it's hard not to. I'm sure others would be glad to trade places with me. Wish I had that care free worry free attitude.

Perfect example, got an email last night from my hyper type A manager. Here's the quote. "Rod, I'm going to come into town next Wednesday afternoon and spend the day with you Thursday. Let's get some people out to dinner Wednesday night. I look forward to a productive few days." Ugh, thanks for the short notice, and a few days before Easter. Why don't we just make calls on Easter morning!

Thanks for listening. Verbalizing on here has actually helped ...kind of like therapy I guess.

If it makes you feel better, we gave up $500,000+ in combined annual salaries/bonuses/stock options/co cars. At the end of the day, it only represented a h#ll of a lot of stress. They don't pay you the big bucks for nothing.

Dumping that stress was the best. thing. we. ever. did. We never spent at the level of our salaries anyway; the majority of it was saved; so our lifestyle didn't suffer upon FIRE. It's been six years, and the only nightmares I have are about being back at w#$k again.

Would it help to think of that $165,000+ in terms of the lifestyle change it represents? At 2% WR that would be $3,200 a year, at 3% it's $4,800. One vacation a year vs extra years at your j#b. YMMV.

 

[2017ish]

Wow can I relate to this thread..

30+ years in high-tech sales. Currently working for a Silicon Valley Cloud software company. It is BRUTAL and soul-crushing, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

...

We are FI and should be able to retire easily with a 2% WR. Ages 53 (me) and 59 (wife). Expenses are $80K+/yr, and that's WITHOUT HC (ugh).

Big / major concern is HC. No idea what the future holds and the unknown of an additional $20K+/year is a huge fear. ...

You should quit now.

If those numbers are accurate, the only thing holding you back is inertia and fear. Even if Healthcare is $40,000 a year, you are looking at a 3% withdrawal rate. You live in the part of California with one of the least dysfunctional health insurance "markets" in the country. As long as you stay in that state, pre-existing conditions should be no problem.

[E.T.A.--sorry, that came across as somewhat harsh. But, you really sound like you are in a bad place, and if I were you, I'd be looking to get out on both feet sooner rather than later. ]

 

[ivinsfan]

Wow can I relate to this thread..

30+ years in high-tech sales. Currently working for a Silicon Valley Cloud software company. It is BRUTAL and soul-crushing, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I do NOTHING but work. Get up before 6. Work out for 45 minutes - and that's my only "self" time all day until I go to bed. Dinner is usually around 9 - if I'm lucky.

Friday comes and I'm so drained I literally go face first into the couch cushions. Last night I fell asleep at 7 from complete exhaustion and my wife couldn't wake me - tried 3 times. Saturday, I'm a zombie..smoke rising from my annhilated body. It takes until mid day Sunday to recoup from the last week..and then it all starts again a few hours later.

We are FI and should be able to retire easily with a 2% WR. Ages 53 (me) and 59 (wife). Expenses are $80K+/yr, and that's WITHOUT HC (ugh).

Big / major concern is HC. No idea what the future holds and the unknown of an additional $20K+/year is a huge fear. Plus, she has pre-existing conditions (high BP and near fatal heart attack a couple years back). Me - I'm sure my system is fried to the max from too many years of stress, coffee and more adult beverages than I should have subjected myself to..

Last year income was very, very good between the two of us - so going to what few pennies we make off CD interest and investments is...terrifying. I'm a pretty experienced investor and have a decent plan in place, but it is still totally out of anyone's control what the market will do - and that frightens me also..because it'd be just my luck to watch a nice PF drop like a stone if something goes whacky - which it will do at some point, guaranteed. Really tempted to just pull everything into cash and bail.

This is kinda personal, but the stress is SO bad and SO relentless - with no break - that there are nights I go to bed wondering if the morning will come. I think quite a bit about the "stress CAN kill you" fact, because I'm heading that direction quickly.

I clearly need to get out. Am exploring other options but no leads so far. Hard to be a slightly overweight white male in your 50s. I have a buddy who got RIF'd last October who's a few years older (also in tech sales) and STILL hasn't found a job. I do think at times if I quit that this is pretty much "it" for me..who's gonna hire a guy who's 53 over dozens of other options in their 20s or 30s?

Really frustrated..need to get out before you guys read my obit in the paper.

Thanks for reading..

That a major problem with prolonged high stress, it impairs peoples good judgement. If a complete stranger had posted this, what would your reaction be? ....mines is this guys judgement his fried, his health (including his mental health) is shot, he apparently can't enjoy one minute of his life...believe it or not once you stop working all your other concerns will appear less major and manageable.

 

[24601NoMore]

You should quit now.

If those numbers are accurate, the only thing holding you back is inertia and fear. Even if Healthcare is $40,000 a year, you are looking at a 3% withdrawal rate. You live in the part of California with one of the least dysfunctional health insurance "markets" in the country. As long as you stay in that state, pre-existing conditions should be no problem.

[E.T.A.--sorry, that came across as somewhat harsh. But, you really sound like you are in a bad place, and if I were you, I'd be looking to get out on both feet sooner rather than later. ]

Thanks..I agree - but FUD is keeping me hostage and on the constant OMY treadmill.

I'm actually in MI even though my company is in the Valley.

Just read today that the "new & improved" HC bill may no longer cover pre-existing conditions. Nice..that could be a deal killer on ER as HC could be a very significant hit to the family piggy bank. Total unknown at this point and may need to wait until things are sorted out..but what I'm hearing today may not be good for those of us with pre-existing conditions..and Congress wants to exempt themselves and remain covered on pre-existing (sorry - that's bi-partisan frustration and not meant to get political..)

If the ACA stays in place, that would remove some of the uncertainty about HC cost..which is probably the single thing that keeps me OMY. Aside from that I could potentially pull the plug, although the thought of doing so at 53 is pretty terrifying because the odds of finding work at 50+ is remote at best, if I ever need to go back.

 

[Brat]

Did the ACA replace the old MA health insurance law? If not pre-existing conditions may still be covered.

 

[Brat]

If it is any consolation my son and dil own a business that requires many of the skills of a construction worker. He recently told me that he isn't hiring anyone under the age of 30!! He called young workers 'snowflakes', they just melt away to the crew shack and drink coffee. A recent hire was 'voted off the island' by his crew.

This may be the perfect economy for older workers to find lower stress jobs where their skills and knowledge have value.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Well, my hyper active type A manager is flying in to ride with me for 2 days straight this week. Megacorp new action plan is to do field rides with us monthly. Hammer us for more sales. We will see how it goes. Might have to tell him to get off my a$$ or I'm done.

He just bought a big house with a big mortgage. I'll let the 45 year old know....I don't need the money anymore. Smoke that!

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Well, my hyper active type A manager is flying in to ride with me for 2 days straight this week. Megacorp new action plan is to do field rides with us monthly. Hammer us for more sales. We will see how it goes. Might have to tell him to get off my a$$ or I'm done.

He just bought a big house with a big mortgage. I'll let the 45 year old know....I don't need the money anymore. Smoke that!

Glad your in the drivers seat on this one. You can call the shots now. Being FI gives a lot of freedom.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Glad your in the drivers seat on this one. You can call the shots now. Being FI gives a lot of freedom.

Amen to that!

It's strange to be in this position, many times I forget I am in an excellent position. I guess it's from years and years of working hard and saving ....you still think of yourself as trying to make it.

Like when he emailed me last week and said that he was flying in to ride with me for two days. I got stressed out and then I had to think wait a minute I don't need to be stressed out anymore.... hard to let go I guess.